Ultra-processed foods are everywhere! From instant noodles and packaged snacks to sugary drinks, processed meats, frozen meals, and many ready-to-eat products. They are convenient and often affordable, but what happens inside your body when you eat them regularly?

First, What Is Ultra-Processed Food?

Not every packaged or processed food is ultra-processed. The term generally refers to foods made through extensive industrial processing and containing combinations of ingredients, additives, and substances not typically used in home cooking.

Examples include soft drinks, packaged snacks, instant noodles, confectionery, and many ready-to-eat meals. The NOVA food classification system is commonly used by researchers to categorize foods according to their level of processing.

This year, the World Health Organization (WHO) notes that diets containing significant amounts of highly processed foods—often high in sodium, free sugars, or unhealthy fats—are associated with negative health outcomes. The WHO also emphasizes that minimally processed and unprocessed foods should form the foundation of a healthy diet.

You May Eat More Without Realizing It

One of the most interesting findings comes from a randomized controlled trial conducted by researchers at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Twenty adults spent four weeks eating either an ultra-processed or minimally processed diet, switching diets after two weeks. The meals were matched for calories, carbohydrates, fat, protein, sugar, sodium, and fiber. Despite this, participants ate significantly more calories and gained weight during the ultra-processed diet.

On average, participants consumed about 500 more calories per day while eating the ultra-processed diet. The researchers suggested that differences in eating speed, food texture, and the characteristics of the foods may have contributed to this effect. (Hall et al., Cell Metabolism, 2019)

Your Long-Term Health May Also Be Affected

The concern isn't about eating one packaged snack or instant meal. It is about what happens when ultra-processed foods make up a large part of your regular diet.

A 2024 umbrella review published in The BMJ examined 45 pooled analyses involving almost 9.9 million people. Greater consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with higher risks of several adverse health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease-related mortality, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and some mental health outcomes.

However, there is an important caveat: much of this evidence comes from observational studies. This means researchers can identify associations but cannot always prove that ultra-processed food itself directly caused the health outcome. (Lane et al., The BMJ, 2024)

So, Should You Avoid Ultra-Processed Food Completely?

Not necessarily.

Healthy eating doesn't require perfection. Instead, focus on making minimally processed and whole foods such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and nutritious protein sources—the foundation of your diet.

When buying packaged food, look beyond the front-of-pack claims. Check the ingredient list, added sugars, sodium, saturated fat, fiber, and protein.

The goal isn't to fear every ingredient or eliminate every processed food.

It's to understand what you're eating, how often you're eating it, and whether it deserves a regular place in your diet.